


Don't Worry

by liairene



Series: A Visitor's Guide to Highbury [21]
Category: Emma - Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen, Persuasion - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bakery and Coffee Shop, F/M, Modern Era, Small Towns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:28:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26341909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liairene/pseuds/liairene
Summary: College junior, Katy Moore-Land, knows that she has to keep her job at the Knit Wit. She knows that she needs the money. If only the boys around her, Johnny Thorpe and Henry Tilney, weren't so appealing and so distracting.
Relationships: Catherine Morland/Henry Tilney, Catherine Morland/John Thorpe
Series: A Visitor's Guide to Highbury [21]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/908481
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter One

“I want to learn how to fly.”

Annie stopped kneading the bread dough on the counter and looked at the source of the voice. “I beg your pardon.”

Katy Moore-Land shrugged. “You heard me. I want to learn how to fly.”

“You don’t have wings.”

“Sure, but that doesn’t have to stop me from wanting to fly.”

Annie smiled slightly and punched the dough again. “What can I do for you, Katy?”

“I need next Saturday off.”

“Saturday is our busiest day, Katy. We need all hands on deck.”

Katy pouted as she hopped on the stool by Annie’s baking bench. “I know, but Johnny Thorpe asked me on a date, and I want to go out with him. He asked me to go apple picking with him.”

Annie narrowed her eyes. “Don’t your parents own an apple orchard?”

“Yes, but he’s going to take me to a different one. It’s more exciting.”

“Katy, I know that you’re excited about this, but I need you to work.”

The college junior shoved her hands in her apron pockets and smiled sweetly. “Can’t Jamie do it?”

“James is on the football team. He has a game on Saturday.”

“You and Elsa both work on Saturdays!”

“Yes, but we’re already on the schedule. Also, Elsa starts her day at the farmers market. Katy, she’s eight months pregnant, and she’s going to work at least ten hours on Saturday.”

“Wow,” Katy gasped. “That’s a lot.”

“It is,” Annie agreed. “We need to have at least two people here at all times. I currently have you scheduled to work with me from opening until noon. Then, when you leave, Rebecca comes in until close. Elsa comes back here between three and four, and she’ll work until her husband makes her leave. I leave around four when Maria Lucas comes in to work until close.”

“What about Will?”

“What about him?”

“He works Saturday morning sometimes.”

Annie shook her head. “He’ll be at the farmers market with his wife in the morning.”

Katy slumped down momentarily before perking up again. “What about your husband?”

“No,” the taller woman said. “He has his own job commitments on Saturdays.”

Katy slumped down again. “I’m going to find someone.”

“Okay, good luck.”

“Thanks,” the barista replied as she slid off the stool. “I will find someone.”

* * *

Four days later, Annie found herself alone in the Knit Wit at six o’clock. Katy was supposed to arrive by five forty-five, but she didn’t show. Annie had tried calling the twenty-year-old twice but to no avail. That led to her doing a thing that she didn’t want to do. “Hey, Mary, I know that you closed last night and I told you that you could have the whole weekend off,” she began her call. “But Katy didn’t show up this morning.”

The redhead on the other end of the call groaned. “Give me fifteen minutes. I’ll be there.”

“You’ll just be here until noon.”

“It’s fine. I can do it.”

“You’re the best, Mary. Seriously, I mean it.”

Mary King sighed. “Don’t worry about, Annie. It’s not a big deal. What else am I going to do? Write my paper for Dr. Brandon’s class more than twelve hours before it’s due?”

Her boss snorted. “I bet he’d love that.”

“Oh shit,” Mary moaned. “I forgot that you hang out with him. Don’t tell him I said that.”

Annie chuckled. “Don’t worry. I won’t. Just get down here and fast.”

* * *

Thirteen minutes later, Mary King rushed into the Knit Wit. “I’m here.”

“My heroine,” Annie replied with a relieved smile.

Mary shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. I was just going to spend the day on the couch watching a movie or something dumb.”

“Dudette, I’m giving you a bonus or something. You can have all of the tips we get while you’re here. You don’t have to take a last-minute shift and save my butt.”

“Stop worrying about it. Seriously, don’t. Let me put my coat in the office, and I’ll get to work.”

“You’re the best.”

“Nah, I just have no life.”

* * *

Mary worked contentedly until noon when Rebecca Barnes arrived. After Mary clocked out, Annie grabbed her arm for a minute. “Now go home and rest. I mean it.”

“Yes, Mom,” the redhead sassed with a smirk.

“I’m just trying to make sure that you take care of yourself.”

“I appreciate it, Annie. I’ll see you on Tuesday.”

* * *

Just after two, Katy bustled into the shop. “Annie!” she fairly yelled as she rushed towards the counter. “I need to talk to you.”

Annie’s face was set firmly. “You didn’t come in for your shift this morning.”

“I know. I told you that I was going on a date with Johnny.”

“But you didn’t get someone to cover your shift despite telling me multiple times that you were going to do just that. I had to haul Mary in on her day off.”

Katy sighed. “I couldn’t find anyone to cover my shift. I’m sorry.”

“Come with me to the office,” Annie replied flatly. “I need to talk to you.”

“Fine,” the employee huffed.

“Beck, watch the counter!” her boss called as she left the counter behind.

Once in the office, Annie motioned to a chair facing her desk. “Have a seat.”

Katy wordlessly slipped into the stiff wooden chair in front of the desk.

Annie closed the door before settling her long frame in one of the two black rolling chairs behind the desk. “Katy, why are you here?”

“Well, Johnny didn’t show up for our date.”

“Okay, but your shift was supposed to start eight hours ago and end two hours ago. Why are you here now?”

“I want to make up my shift. Johnny was supposed to pick me up at ten, but he never showed. And he’s not responding to my texts or anything, so I thought I’d come over here and try to make up my shift.”

“But Rebecca is here. I don’t need an extra set of hands now.”

Katy’s face fell. “But I want to make up my mistake to you.”

Annie pressed her lips together. “I understand that, and I’ll talk to Elsa about finding a way to do that. But Katy, I need to be sure that you understand something. This is a job. It’s a real job. You work here. Presumably, you will put this job on a job history someday. A future employer might call Elsa or me to ask us about your performance here. And I’ll have to tell them about your attendance issues, about the fact that you put your personal life ahead of your actual job.” Annie blinked as the door behind Katy opened and closed.

“You haven’t seen Johnny Thorpe.”

Elsa came to sit on the edge of the desk. “You haven’t seen what this will do to your paycheck.”

Katy flinched. “I won’t do it again.”

“But you have done it before,” Annie reminded her.

“I’ve never completely missed a shift before.”

Annie nodded slightly. “But you have been late more than once.”

“Far more than once,” Elsa added with a sigh.

Katy sniffled. “Please don’t fire me.”

Annie smiled gently. “We’re not firing you today. But I’m putting you on notice, Katy. You have to get your act together. This is the second time that I’ve talked to you about your attendance. There won’t be a third warning.”

“Oh,” Katy breathed slightly. “Can I stay and work now please?”

“No,” Elsa answered firmly. “We don’t need extra hands-on at the moment. When are you scheduled to work next?”

The college student consulted her phone briefly. “I’m on Tuesday from two until eight.”

Annie consulted her computer. “Alright, you’ll be working with one of us that entire shift.”

“I’m really sorry about this. I really didn’t mean to fuck things up for you.”

“We know,” Elsa told her wearily. “You can go home now. We’ll see you on Tuesday.”

“Okay.”

* * *

After Katy left the office, Elsa slumped into her desk chair and slowly lifted her boot-clad feet onto the desk. “We’ve got to do something about her.”

“Elsa,” Annie replied smoothly her skirt gently. “She’s young. We need to be patient with her.”

“Annie, we were young once. We worked here when we were twenty. We didn’t have issues with attendance when we worked here.”

“Not everyone is us, Elspeth.”

Elsa sighed. “Unfortunately.”

Annie chuckled and shook her head. “Oh, Elsa, you make the world a better place.”

“I try.”

* * *

Tuesday afternoon, Katy arrived walked through the door of the Knit Wit at ten minutes to two. Annie was behind the counter with James Dashwood. Katy waved quietly at them and then made her way quickly to the office where she hung up her coat and bag. She grabbed an apron off the hooks outside the office and headed back to the front counter.

“Did you clock in yet?” Annie queried.

“No, I know that I’m not supposed to until two.”

Annie nodded. “Good.”

“I’m trying to do it right today.”

* * *

Katy clocked in at two, and she was doing fine for the first few hours of her shift. Mid-afternoon on a weekday was a pretty calm time at the Knit Wit. There were a few students studying. Lily Bennet popped in just before four to get some caffeine before a hostess shift at the Green Dragon.

“How much longer are you going to be working there?” Annie asked as she made a caramel latte with an extra shot of espresso.

Lily wrinkled her nose in thought and tossed her dark purple curls. “I’m supposed to be done with my program in May, so hopefully I’ll get a job over the summer and be able to leave the Dragon in August or September? But I don’t mind working there. It’s just rough balancing all of my classwork and working evening shifts.”

“I can imagine. It doesn’t sound like a fun life.”

“I don’t think that anyone thinks that grad school is fun,” Lily answered with a smile.

“I don’t know,” Katy inserted. “I’ve heard Henry Tilney say that he likes his classes.”

Lily shrugged. “I didn’t say that grad students don’t like their classes. Ididn’t say that I don’t like my classes. I’m only saying that the overall experience is a bit much.”

“Maybe for you.”

Annie raised her eyebrows and then carefully raised a hand. “Katy, stop. You’re trying to compare Henry Tilney who is working on a master’s degree funded by his dad while working part-time at his dad’s winery with Lily who is working on her speech pathology degree while working long shifts at the Green Dragon pretty much every evening.”

“That doesn’t sound much harder than what I do.”

Annie bit her lip, and Lily raised her left eyebrow. “Well, see, here’s the difference, Katy. I show up for all of my shifts.”

“Okay, that’s enough,” Annie snapped. “Lily, go to work before I call your boss. Katy, please _attempt_ to be slightly more diplomatic with our paying customers.”

“Bye, guys! Annie, I’ll give Erik your love.” Lily waved and made her way out of the shop.

Katy slumped. “I’m trying, Annie! I really am.”

“I know, but you can’t pick fights with customers.”

“I just know what I’ve heard Henry say, and I think that Lily is wrong!”

Annie looked steadily at Katy. “So you want to stand here and argue with a grad student who knows what her life is like based on the things that you’ve overheard another grad student say?”

“Henry seems really smart.”

Annie’s husband was Henry’s advisor, and she was well acquainted with Erik’s opinions about Henry as a student and as an individual. “I’m sure that he is.”

“So I think that I’m going to believe him over Lily.”

Annie looked at her. “You don’t have to believe him over Lily. They are both grad students. They just have different experiences of grad school.”

“But I remember what Lily was like in high school. I mean, okay, I was in middle school when she was in high school, but I heard stories about her. My brother told me about her.”

“Katy, that was more than five years ago. Lily has grown up a lot since then.”

Katy sighed. “I just don’t know. She was just such a trashy person back then.”

“And now she’s pursuing a really wonderful career, and I find her very impressive.”

“I just remember the way she went after Zack Wick her senior year of high school. That was so trashy.”

Annie sighed. “We all make mistakes.”

“You don’t.”

Annie laughed. “You didn’t know me when I was your age. I’ve made my fair share of mistakes.”

“You just seem like you have everything together now.”

“That’s because I leaned from my mistakes and I grew.” She paused. “That’s part of life, Katy. You learn from your mistakes and grow. You evolve as a person. That’s the point.”

Katy shrugged. “So you’re saying that Johnny might outgrow standing me up?”

“Focus on your own growth,” Annie told her. “Don’t waste time or energy about some guy who can’t be bothered to make time for you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to check on my bread dough.”

* * *

A little after five, a skinny man of average height with very dark longish hair strolled through the door of the Knit Wit. On reaching the counter, he grinned at Katy. “Hey, babes, how’s it hanging?”

“I’m working,” she answered brightly.

“Ugh,” he groaned. “How much longer? Some friends of mine are going to a party in Mansfield tonight. I was thinking that you could come with.”

“I’m working until eight.”

He grimaced. “We’re leaving at seven-thirty. Can’t you bail?”

“I’m already on thin ice here because of Saturday.”

“What happened on Saturday?”

Katy winced slightly. “I skipped my shift because we were supposed to go apple picking, but you never came to pick me up?”

“Oh shit! I was in Mansfield with some friends. I totally forgot that I told you we’d go to the orchard. We can do that this weekend though!”

She smiled. “Oh, that’d be great!”

“Yeah, and maybe Bella and your brother can tag along too? It can be a double date.”

“I’d love that!” Katy enthused.

“Great, I’ll see you then.”

“I just have to make sure that I’m not working.”

He steadied his gray eyes on her. “Katy, you’ve got to quit this job. It’s holding you back.”

She sighed. “But I need the job. My parents have six kids. They can’t afford to pay my tuition.”

“That sucks.”

Katy shrugged. “It does, but I’m used to it.”

“You should still try to get a better job.”

“Where?”

“You could work for my dad.”

She looked at him warily. “Where does your dad work?”

“At the marina.”

“Johnny, I don’t know about that. I don’t think that the hours would be much better for me.”

“Or I could get you in at the Tilney Vineyard. I do maintenance and odd jobs for Old Man Tilney. I’m sure that I could get you a job there.”

“I don’t know, Johnny,” Katy said nervously. “I’m not twenty-one yet. I don’t think that I could work at a vineyard.”

The bell over the door jingled as he waved a hand casually. “Oh, don’t worry about that. No one cares about that.”

“Are we going to be spending money today, Johnny, or just distracting my employees from their jobs?” Elsa asked sweetly as she joined Katy behind the counter.

He dug in his pockets for a minute or so. “Well, uh, I don’t seem to have any cash on me, so sorry, Dr. Bennet. Katy, I got to scram. I’ll talk to you later.”

After the door closed behind him, Elsa looked at Katy. “Take it from me. Never trust a guy who says ‘Oh, don’t worry about that. No one cares about that.’”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about me, Elsa. That’s just the way that Johnny talks.”

Elsa scrunched up her nose and nodded. “I know. That’s why I’m worried. I’ve known guys like him.”

“Johnny is fine.”

“Okay.”

“No, he’s a good guy, Elsa.”

Elsa nodded and rubbed her very pregnant belly. “Katy, I hope that you’re right. But I tend not to trust men, no, wait. I tend not to trust guys who say ‘Oh, don’t worry about that. No one cares about that.’ I’ve had experience with that sort of guy before.”

“Johnny is fine, Elsa. I like him. He has to be okay.”

“Okay.”

“I’m not like you, Elsa,” Katy said. “I don’t want big things. I just want to get married and have babies. That’s really all that I want.”

Her professor and boss looked her over from her Keds-clad toes to her pert light brown ponytail. “Then why are you in college?”

“Well, for one thing Mom said that I had to go to college before I could get married, and plus I was single when I finished high school so college was really my only option.”

Elsa pressed her lips together. “I see.”

“Why did you go to college? Is that where you met Will?”

The older woman settled herself on a stool and smoothed her gray shirt over her belly. “I went to college because I wanted to learn more. I love learning, and I love literature. I wanted to share that with other people. Katy, I went to college to learn.”

“And where did you meet Will?”

“Here,” Elsa answered.

“Here? In Highbury?”

“In the Knit Wit,” she said with a smile. “I met him in front of this very counter.”

“How?”

The door jangled and footsteps entered the café. “I’ll tell you the whole story sometime. This isn’t a good time.”

Katy sighed dramatically. “I like a good romantic story.”

“Yeah, but we have customers.”

Katy turned to see two college students. “Hi, welcome to the Knit Wit. What can I do for you?”

“Oh, we need a minute to read the menu,” one of the girls answered.

Elsa slowly eased herself to her feet and squeezed Katy’s shoulder. “Just be wise, Katy. I don’t want to see you rushing into something and then regretting it for the rest of your life.”

“Oh, don’t worry, Elsa. I’ll ever regret Johnny.”

“I really hope not.”

* * *

Chapter Two to follow soon!


	2. Chapter 2

It was just after three o’clock on an early October Sunday when Henry Tilney walked into the Knit Wit. Katy Moore-Land was slumped over on the counter with her head in her hands. “Hey, Katy,” he said.

She popped up, clearly startled. “Oh, Henry, hi, how are you? Sorry, I didn’t see you.”

He waved a hand casually. “It’s okay. Are you okay?”

Katy sighed. “Boys are stupid, Henry.”

“Throw rocks at them.”

“Huh?” she looked at him quizzically.

He tossed his head. “Oh, it’s just a thing that Eleanor says sometimes. Boys are dumb; throw rocks at them.”

“Your sister is absolutely right. I’m done with boys. They’re all dumb.”

Henry frowned sympathetically. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She shook her head aggressively. “I don’t want to talk about it to anyone ever.”

“Okay, well, in that case can I get a large coffee and a pumpkin scone?”

“Sure, do you want room for cream?”

He smiled. “Oh, absolutely, I can’t stand black coffee.”

“Elsa says that people who don’t like black coffee don’t like coffee at all.”

Henry made a face. “Wow, hard words, I like coffee, just not bitter coffee.”

“Oh, I’m with you,” Katy grinned sweetly. “And you won’t have to worry about arguing with Elsa about it for the next several weeks. She had the baby on Thursday, and she’s out or off or however you say it until just after Christmas.”

“She had the baby? That’s great.”

“Yeah, a baby girl, they named her Clara. She’s really cute.”

“Cool.”

“Do you want to see a picture of her? We have a picture on the staff fridge.”

Henry shrugged. “I mean, sure? If you want to show me?”

Katy handed him a large paper cup and then plated his scone. “Have a seat and give me a second.”

* * *

“Look at her!” Katy enthused, holding out the photograph. “She’s so stinking cute.”

Henry took the picture from Katy to see a picture of a baby with her eyes closed and long eyelashes resting on chubby red cheeks. Her head was covered by a pink hat, and she was swaddled tightly in a pink blanket. “She’s very sweet.”

“She’s just the cutest baby ever.”

He handed her back the photo. “She’s certainly got some chubby cheeks.”

“They’re so squishable.”

“You really like babies, don’t you?”

She nodded. “Babies are the best. I want a bunch.”

He took his computer out of his bag. “Do you tell everyone that?”

She thought for a minute. “Yeah, pretty much, why wouldn’t I?”

“Oh, Katy,” he chuckled.

“What?” she demanded.

Henry shook his head. “I’m sorry, kiddo. I have to get some work done.”

“Right,” she replied, jumping up. “I need to get back to work.”

* * *

Tuesday afternoon found Katy behind the counter of the Knit Wit again. And again, Johnny Thorpe appeared. “I got you a job.”

“What?”

“Well, I was talking to Old Man Tilney about you, and he agreed that we could use someone like you as a hostess in the tasting room.”

“Johnny,” she said unsteadily.

“You’d get really good money.”

“I don’t know.”

“You’d get paid better than you do here. And you might get tips.”

“Let me think about it.”

He leaned forward and flashed his eyebrows enticingly. “It’s a good offer. You’ll like working at the vineyard.”

“I don’t know,” she wavered.

“Katy, don’t worry about it. It’ll be fine. You’ll love working there. You’ll get to work with me.”

She let out a long breath. “Okay, I’ll do it.”

“Meet me at the vineyard on Saturday morning. I’ll text you the rest of the details.”

* * *

Saturday morning, Katy put on a black skirt and a white blouse before making her way to the Tilney vineyards. Johnny’s directions led her not to the main tasting room but to the wine-making house set further back in to the hills of the Tilney property. When she got there, she didn’t find Johnny but she did find Ricky Tilney. “So, you’re the new girl. Johnny told me that you’d be here today.”

She rubbed her skirt nervously. “Yeah, he said that I would be starting as a hostess?”

Ricky snorted. “Oh, darling, don’t even listen to Johnny’s promises.”

“I quit my old job for this.” She hadn’t been brave enough to tell Annie to her face that she was quitting; she’d settled for sending her kind former boss a text message.

“Well, then let’s get you changed so you can get to work.”

“Changed?” she squeaked.

He nodded. “You’re working in the stomping room, my dear. You won’t be working in the tasting house; you’re too young and far too new.”

“But Johnny said that my age wouldn’t matter.”

Ricky grinned widely and shook his head. “Like I said, you shouldn’t listen to Johnny’s promises.”

“He said that he talks to your dad.”

The older Tilney brother snorted. “Darling, Johnny works for me. He’s never even met my dad.”

She sighed. “Oh, no.”

“What?”

“I should have listened to Elsa.”

“Well, he DID get you a job. So go get change, and we’ll get you working.”

* * *

Apparently, part of the Tilney Vineyard ethos was having the grapes stomped by a real live barefoot person. And that was the job that Johnny had gotten her. With the dark pants that Ricky had found her in the employee locker room rolled up around her knees, Katy wondered what exactly she’d gotten herself into. She didn’t know what she was being paid. She didn’t know what her schedule was or how many hours she’d be working. She’d just jumped on the job because of Johnny. And she didn’t know if she’d made the right choice.

* * *

She didn’t seen Johnny at all that first Saturday. She did, however, see Henry. He wandered into the wine-making house at some point in the afternoon when her feet were stained deep purple. It was his laughing that alerted her to his presence.

“Don’t mock me.”

“Why not?” he queried form the doorway of the room.

Katy glared at him. “Isn’t it obvious?”

“My brother must be thrilled that he finally found someone to stomp grapes for him.”

“Who was doing it before?”

“High school kids,” he smirked. “How do you end up here?”

She pouted. “Johnny, he told me that he got me a job as a hostess in the tasting room.”

“You listened to Johnny?”

“He’s so sweet, Henry. I can’t resist him.”

Henry leveled his gaze on her. “You can’t resist Johnny Thorpe?”

“He’s delightful!”

“Katy, he’s a con artist.”

“He said that your dad adores him.”

Henry barked a laugh. ”He’s never met my dad.”

Her face fell. “That’s what your brother said.”

“Ricky is not a liar.”

Katy sighed. “I just thought…I don’t know. I thought that that…I thought Johnny would want something good for me.”

Henry looked at her. “Johnny?”

She kept stomping. “He’s my friend! We like each other.”

“Oh, Katy,” Henry sighed. “Oh, Katy, I don’t know what to tell you.”

She pouted. “I like him!”

“I know.”

“No, like I really like him. I like LIKE him.”

Henry sighed. “I kind of figured that out.”

She gasped. “But how?”

He shrugged. “You’re really not that hard to figure out.”

* * *

Katy worked eight hours that first day. At six o’clock, Ricky came to tell her to go home. “Come back tomorrow at ten.”

“How often am I going to be working?”

“As often as you can,” he replied. “We’re harvesting grapes, and we need you working as much as you can.”

“I have classes during the week.”

“I’ll send Eleanor now here tomorrow to help sort out your schedule. We’ll make it work. It’s harvest time. We really need your feet.”

“So, this isn’t a year-round job?”

He shook his head. “If you show yourself to be a good worker, we might consider hiring you on a more permanent basis. But I just asked Johnny to find me someone who could help out just for a couple of weeks.”

Katy’s face fell. “I thought that this was a year-round job. I had a good job, and I quit it because Johnny told me that this would be better.”

Ricky shrugged casually. “That’s not my problem.

The college student sighed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Ten o’clock,” he said. “I don’t like tardiness.”

* * *

Katy wore jeans and an old t-shirt the next day. “Much better,” Ricky Tilney remarked with an approving smile when she arrived. Something in his smile and the way that he watched her when she started stomping about on the grapes made her uncomfortable. She didn’t know what it was exactly, just that she didn’t like the angel of his eye or the turn of his lips.

* * *

She met Eleanor Tilney during her two o’clock lunch break. Eleanor was tall with a noticeable confidence and a warm smile. “So you’re the girl that my brother convinced to stomp grapes for us.”

“It was Johnny’s idea.”

Eleanor pressed her lips together and nodded. “Johnny Thorpe, I see.”

“He’s a friend,” Katy explained brightly. “I like him.”

The older woman nodded stiffly. “I see. Well, I’m glad to have you on the team.”

“Ricky said that you would give me my schedule?”

“Can you get me your class schedule?”

“Sure, can I text it to you or can you get me a piece of paper and a pen?”

“I’ll get you a sheet of paper.”

Katy smiled. “Thanks.”

“Of course.”

“Ricky said that if this goes well there might be a chance that I can get a more permanent position?”

Eleanor nodded. “We’ll obviously have to see how everything goes, but it’s definitely a possibility.”

“It’s just that I have to work. I have to have a job. I can’t not have a job. I can’t afford college if I don’t have a job.”

“I understand.”

Katy was nervous, and when she was nervous, she tended to overshare. “It’s just that my parents don’t have a lot of money. They own an apple farm, and they have six kids. They want to send us all to private schools. And they just don’t have spare money to send us kids to college.”

“I get that,” Eleanor replied with a smile. “Wait. Don’t you work at the Knit Wit? I feel like I’ve seen you there in the later afternoon?”

“I did, but I quit when Johnny told me about this job.”

“You left the Knit Wit for this job? Why would you do that?”

Katy blushed. “He made it sound like I’d make more money here.”

“Wow, that boy should be in sales. You’re definitely not going to make more money here than you did there.”

“Really?”

“I’m sorry.”

Katy looked down at her feet. “Wow, he did not tell me that.”

Eleanor pressed her lips together and squeezed Katy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about that.”

* * *

Katy worked four shifts after that first Sunday shift without seeing Johnny. She saw Ricky every day. She saw Henry once or twice. Eleanor came to check in on her every day. But she never saw the man who got her into the vineyard.

A second week came and went with more of the same. “You’ll probably be done after next week,” Ricky told her on her second Thursday.

Her heart fell. “And there’s no chance of me getting anything more permanent?”

He took a step towards her and smiled cockily. “Well, there’s a chance. We’ll see how a few different things pan out.”

“Oh yeah? Like what?’

Ricky rested a hand on Katy’s shoulder. “Oh, you know, there’s a few things we could explore.”

Katy gasped as his hand slid down her back. “Oh.”

He smiled and pulled her closer to himself. “If these things go well, you can definitely work in the tasting room.”

Katy gasped again before Ricky pressed his lips to hers. She took a step back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “That’s what you want?”

He took a step towards her, towering over her. “Of course it’s what I want. A sweet little thing like you? That is exactly what I asked Johnny for.”

“You asked Johnny for me?’

Ricky smirked. “Well, not you specifically, but yes, I told him to find me a sweet little thing who could help to make me happy.”

“Excuse me?”

He reached up a hand and stroked her fair cheek with his rough thumb. “That’s how this works. Johnny finds me cute sweet innocent girls, like you, and they work for me.”

“I stomp grapes.”

He shrugged. “That’s just part of your job. It’s just the beginning. The rest of your job is more personal. You’re here for me.”

Katy gulped painfully. “I thought this was a good job.”

He rubbed her shoulders. “It’s a great job, and the benefits are spectacular.”

“Frederick,” a harsh voice barked.

Ricky jerked his hand away from Katy’s face and jumped away from her. “Father, Dad, I’m-well, Father, I’m sorry.”

Katy took a step further away from Ricky and turned to see a rotund man of average height with thinning gray hair and a dour expression. Her knees grew week, and her breathing became a touch more erratic.

“Ricky, you ought to know better than to treat our employees in such a way. This,” he said waving his hand awkwardly between Ricky and Katy. “This is not what a Tilney does.”

“It’s not a big deal, Dad. Katy and I are friends.”

His father glowered at him. “This doesn’t look like friendship. This looks like more of your antics.”

“Don’t worry, Dad. It’ll all be fine.”

“No, it won’t all be fine. You and I will have a conversation about this later in my office. For now, it would be sufficient if you would scram.”

“Yes, Father,” Ricky said in a low tone as he hurried out of the pressing house.

“So,” Mr. Tilney began as he focused his attention on Katy. “What is your name?”

She could feel herself shaking nervously. “I’m…uhm, I’m uh…my name is Katy Moore-Land. Well, my real name is Katharine Moore-Land. Really, it’s Katharine Anne Moore-Land, but I just go by Katy most of the time.”

The gruff man nodded. “Do you always talk this much?”

“Yes,” she answered quickly. “I mean no. I don’t know. I’m really nervous right now.”

“Why would you be nervous?”

“Well, you own Tilney Vineyards and also you’re Henry’s dad and Eleanor’s dad. And I want to impress you but I’m clearly not doing that right now.”

He chuckled. “You are something else.”

“I’m sorry. Today has just been really weird.”

“I’m sorry about my son. He has some struggles with self-control at times.”

She looked down at her ragged formerly white sneakers. “You can say that.”

“I would prefer that you not tell anyone what happened.”

“He’s not my friend.”

Mr. Tilney nodded. “Sit down.”

Katy looked around before settling on a flimsy folding chair.

“I know that my son is less than perfect. But my brand is built around my family. I don’t need people knowing that my son sometimes behaves in a less than savory manner.”

“I’m pretty sure that I am not the first girl that he’s done this too.” Elsa Bennet’s voice rang in her head. _I tend not to trust men, no, wait. I tend not to trust guys who say ‘Oh, don’t worry about that. No one cares about that.’ I’ve had experience with that sort of guy before._

“Perhaps not, but I have an offer for you.”

“An offer?” she choked out.

Mr. Tilney nodded blandly. “I’d like to offer you a job working as a hostess in the tasting room in exchange for your silence about all of this.”

She gulped. In her head, she could hear Elsa telling her that this was a bad idea. When had Elsa become her conscience? But truth be told, she needed a job. And she did NOT want to tuck her tail between her legs and go beg for her old job back from Annie.

“Well?” he queried testily.

She nodded. “I’ll do it. I’ll take the job. I won’t mess it up. I promise.”

“Good, Eleanor will be in touch with your schedule. I’ve heard good things about you. I’m expecting great things from you.”

“I won’t let you down,” she babbled. “I’ll do my absolute best. I really want to work here. I’m excited about this.”

“Yes, yes,” he replied. “Just don’t tell anyone about Ricky.”

* * *

Almost immediately Katy started working in the tasting room. She didn’t work every day, but she did like the job. It required less manual labor than the stomping house and more formal attire. Katy liked fashion, and she really liked getting to put on a nice pair of pants and pretty top or a cute dress and leggings. “It’s even better than working at the Knit Wit,” she told Marianne Dashwood while shopping at Audrey’s Closet one day. “The clothes are better.”

“Elsa and Annie are always dressed nicely.”

“That’s different. They’re the owners.”

Marianne shrugged. “Rebecca and Mary always look nice.”

“Maybe, but at the winery, I can stay clean. It’s just a better job.”

“I’m glad that you’re happy.”

Katy grinned. “I’m so happy. It’s such a good job. I almost owe Johnny Thorpe a thank you.”

* * *

Working in the tasting room, Katy saw Eleanor every day, Henry fairly regularly, and Ricky not at all. Eleanor managed the day-to-day running of the tasting room, and Henry helped her when and where he could. Ricky had been reassigned by his father to a role in the vineyard’s offices that kept him largely out of town. Katy settled into her new job. She liked interacting with people, and she also liked working with Eleanor. She really liked seeing Henry whenever possible.

Henry was delightful. He was warm and friendly. He talked with her every time that he saw her. He was good-looking. He was kind. She was well on her way to having a very serious crush on him.

“What’s the story behind that?” she asked him one day.

“Behind what?” he asked.

She turned to face him holding out a bottle of white wine that she’d just taken off a shelf. “The Belle Helene, it’s your best vintage and your most expensive. But what is the story behind it?”

Henry gently took the bottle from Katy’s hand and smiled wistfully. “Helene was my mother’s name.”

“What happened to her?”

He pressed his lips together sadly. “She died young. We were just kids when she died.”

“And she was pretty, like the name?”

He smiled slightly. “She was so beautiful. There’s a picture of her around here somewhere. You should see her.”

“What was she like?”

Henry smiled. “She was a great mom. She was sweet and kind. And I think that she always smelled like cookies.”

“Was she a good baker?”

“She loved to bake.”

Katy smiled. “I bet I would have liked her.”

“You would have loved her. Everyone loved her.”

“Your dad must have had great stories about her.”

Henry shrugged. “Dad hates talking about her. It kind of stinks because I was only eight when she died and I don’t really remember her that well. I’d love to hear more about her.”

“That’s sad. I wonder why he doesn’t talk about her. I would think that he would want to talk about her.”

“My dad is not a sentimental guy. He doesn’t talk about much of anything.”

“Oh,” Katy sighed. “That’s so sad. Talking about feelings is great. I love talking about feelings.”

Henry smiled. “Well, I’m glad that you do, but not everyone does.”

* * *

“So how did your mom die?” Katy asked Eleanor later that day.

Eleanor shook her head. “Where did that come from?”

“I was talking to your brother today, and he mentioned that she died. But he didn’t say how she died.”

“Well, I was seven when she died. I don’t remember everything. It was really sudden. She got really sick, and it felt like it was out of nowhere.”

“That’s horrible.”

“Yeah, it was really hard.”

“I’m sorry. I love my mom so much. I can’t imagine life without her.” She paused for a second before continuing. “But you’re sure that you don’t know how your mom died?”

Eleanor shook her head again. “I think that she had a virus or something. Mono or maybe it was meningitis?”

“Or maybe she was poisoned?”

“Or maybe you watch too many true crime shows on TV?”

Katy shrugged. “I love true crime shows. They’re fun.”

“Yeah, but sometimes I feel like they influence the way that you view the world.”

“The world can be a scary place. It’s good to be a little suspicious of some things in it.”

“What are you suspicious of?”

“Certain kinds of people.”

“You trust Johnny Thorpe.”

Katy shrugged. “He’s not the sort of person that I mistrust.”

Eleanor raised her eyebrows. “I don’t get that.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve known him for a while. He’s been lurking around the vineyard for years, and I’ve never found him to be trustworthy. He hangs out with Ricky too much.”

“I thought that he just worked with your brother sometimes.”

“Oh, no,” Eleanor gasped. “They hang out together a lot.”

Katy’s face fell. “They do?”

Eleanor pressed her lips together and nodded.

“I thought…I don’t know what I thought. I didn’t think that they were friends. I thought…oh, I don’t know, Eleanor. I guess I was still hoping that Johnny would turn out to be a good guy.”

“Yeah, he’s gone. He scampered out of here when Dad relegated Ricky to off-site activities only.”

“So he’s gone?”

Eleanor nodded. “It seems that way.”

“I really wasted my time on him.”

The older woman patted Katy’s arm sympathetically. “We all make mistakes.”

* * *

A few days later, Mr. Tilney was uncharacteristically in the tasting room when Katy arrived. She had come right from class, and she was grumbling as she dumped her things in the break room.

After she clocked in, she made her way to the hostess stand. Thursday afternoons tended to be quite slow, so she brought a book with her. She sighed loudly as she put the book inside the heavy wooden stand.

“What’s wrong?” The gruff older man asked from the cash register across the entryway.

She sighed again. “I forgot to turn in a paper that was due today, and stupid Dr. Kingsleigh will take accept it late, but he’s going to reduce my grade, and I can’t have anything threaten to reduce my grade.”

“Why not?”

“Because I have to maintain good grades to keep my scholarship,” she said looking down at her black ballet flats.

Mr. Tilney furrowed his brow. “Your scholarship? Do you have an academic scholarship?”

“I have a small academic scholarship, but most of my tuition is actually covered by a need-based scholarship.”

“Need-based? But aren’t you the Allens’ goddaughter?”

She nodded. “Yeah, Uncle Joe and Aunt Rose are my godparents.”

“Well, aren’t they helping with your college tuition?”

Katy furrowed her brow and shook her head. “No, they aren’t.”

“But they’re your godparents, and they don’t have any children. Surely they’re helping you our financially somehow.”

She clenched her hands behind her back and shook her head nervously. “No, they aren’t just my godparents. They’re all of our godparents. None of us get anything special from them.”

“I thought I’d heard that you were the sole heir.”

Katy snorted slightly. “Hardly.”

“I see,” Mr. Tilney said stiffly. “That’s not what I’d heard.”

“I don’t know who told you that, but they had their facts wrong.”

He sniffed. “Well, I’ll remember that.”

* * *

Two days later, Katy’s professor, the supposedly stupid Dr. Kingsleigh, died. Katy wanted to trade her Wednesday afternoon shift so that she could go to the funeral, but she didn’t have an opportunity to ask until Monday. And it happened that Eleanor wasn’t there, so she had to ask Mr. Tilney. “No,” he told her stiffly.

“No? But it’s my professor’s funeral.”

“Less than a week ago, you said that he was stupid. This sounds like you’re just trying to get a free day off.”

Katy sniffled. “I liked Dr. Kingsleigh. He was hard, but he was good. I want to go to his funeral.”

“No, this just sounds like you’re trying to get out of work. If you don’t want to work here, then don’t. You’re fired.”

“I’m not trying to get out of work! I do want to work here. I like this job.”

He shook his head. “It’s too late. You’re fired. Get your things together and leave.”

Still sniffling, Katy grabbed her things from the break room and stomped out.

* * *

The next time that Katy saw any of the Tilneys was Wednesday at Oliver Kingsleigh’s funeral. Henry came up to her at the luncheon. “Can I talk to you privately?”

“What’s up?” she asked looking up from her plate.

“This is something that I should say privately. Can we talk at the Knit Wit?”

She shook her head. “They closed it for the day.”

“Oh, okay, I guess that makes sense.”

“We could go to the park?” she offered.

He nodded. “Okay.”

* * *

“So,” she said, settling herself on a bench. “What’s going on?”

“I want to apologize for my dad.”

“Pardon?”

Henry sighed. “This is going to absurd, but I guess that Johnny Thorpe told my dad that you were going to rich.”

“Why?”

“Johnny and Ricky were drunk one night, and Johnny was rambling about all of the great things about you. My dad overhead them, and he believed what Johnny was saying. I guess he didn’t know what kind of a person Johnny was or even what kind of person my brother is. And when he found out that you weren’t destined to come into money, he wasn’t interested in you.”

“Why was he interested in me at all?”

Henry sighed. “My dad thought that you were going to take over the Allen farm.”

“Barf!” she inserted. “I hated growing up on a farm. I don’t want to own another one.”

Her companion smiled. “I get it. But my dad had this crazy idea that you and I could get married and combine Tilney vineyards with the Allen farm and create a produce empire.”

“Oh? Hell, no, that is not what I want. I do not want to create a produce empire.”

“I understand that. I don’t either if I’m being honest.”

“So, why did your dad fire me?”

“You weren’t useful to him anymore.”

“But I still had that story about what Ricky did to me.”

“If you’d tried to tell that story to anyone, he’d just try to discredit you. It would be your story against my brother’s word, and my dad would crush you.”

Katy looked down at the ground. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m going to have to try to get my old job at the Knit Wit back.”

Henry squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry.”

She smiled slightly. “Thanks. I can’t afford college without that job, you know?”

“What do you want to do after college?”

She shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I’m getting a degree in English, but I don’t want to teach, and I don’t know what else to do with it.”

“You’ll figure it out,” he told her with a smile. “I have a faith in you.”

“You do?”

Henry smiled at her. “I do. I really do.”

“But…”

“You’re a smart girl, Katy. You’re smart and you’re kind and you’re just a great girl. And I know that you’ll figure out what to do next.”

She blushed. “I don’t know, Henry. I don’t think that I’m very good at that.”

He shrugged. “I have full faith in you. You’ll figure it all out.”

She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. “You’re so kind, Henry.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I just call things like I see them. So, tomorrow you’ll go talk to Annie and get your job back. And then I’ll take you out for dinner on Friday night.”

“Are you asking me out on a date?”

He smiled. “I guess that I am.”

“Well, then I’ll happily go on a date with you.”

Henry kissed Katy’s head again. “I have a feeling that this is the beginning of something wonderful.”

She smiled up at him. “I hope that you’re right.”

* * *

The End.


End file.
